Edward t



(NoModeL) i E. T. ROWE.

I FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Aug. 21,1883.

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V UNITED STATES I 'A'rnNr Orricni.

EDWAR-D T. ROVE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE NEW ENGLANDPATENT FIRE-ESCAPE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,666, dated August21, 1883,

' Application filed May 14, 1883. (No model.)

To 62% whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, EDWARD T. ROWE, of Boston, in the county ofSufiolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a Specification.

My improvement relates particularly to that class of fire-escapesdescribed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 277,415, dated 10May 8, 1883, to I-Iarlan Fairbanks, of Boston,

Massachusetts, and especially to improvements in the construction of theupper end or curved stay of the fire-escape therein described; and itsobject is to facilitate the operation and to r 5 improve theconstruction of such a fire-escape. i

I will now proceed to describe a fire-escape of that character, andespecially the upper part thereof, embodying my invention, in the bestform now known to me, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the iireescape; Fig. 2-, atop or plan view of the curved stay at the top; Figs. 3, at, 5, 6, 7,and 8 de tailed views in section and eleyation of my improvements asapplied thereto.

In the practical use of fire-escapes constructed in accordance with theLetters Patent above mentioned it has been found that the strain towhich the apparatus is exposed has the eii'ect 0 of causing the canvasor rope, or both, at the points where'they are exposed to contact withthe ends of the curved stay, to be abraded or worn through. It has alsobeen found that when the curved stay is made rigid, and of the size bestadapted for practical use, that \it is frequently inconvenient ordifficult, and

' sometimes impossible, toadj ust the-fire-escape for use, on account ofthe smallness or narrowness of the window or other place of escape 0where it is to be used;

My present improvements are intended to obviate both of thesedifficulties, which I do in the following manner:

To meet the diificulty of abrasion or wearat .5 the ends of the curvedstay, I form or insert at the ends thereof a projecting shoulder,whereby the parts of the rope are held at such a distance beyond theends of the curved stay that neither they nor the canvas of thefire-escape will be inj uriously strained over and abraded by the endsof the said stay. This construction is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 andS, in which A represents the upper end of the chute, B the curved stay,and C the projection or shoulder. I prefer, though it is not absolutelyncc- 5 5 essary, to form this part 0 by inserting into the ends of thecurved stay B a piece in the form of an eyebolt, as shown in section atFigs. 4 and 8. The stem of the eyebolt, being made slightly smaller thanthe interior of the curved stay B, '60 allows play both in the directionof the normal strain upon the side ropes, D, of the fire escape, andalso permits the fire-escape, when in use, to be twisted either to theright or left at its lower part, which is at the ground. The advantageof this is evident when the escape is made use of in the narrow streetof a city, where, in order to get sufficient room for the suitableextension of the fire-escape, it might be necessary to carry its lowerend along either .to one side or the other, instead of in a straightline.

The additional feature of making the projection or shoulder C detachablefrom the stay B has the advantage of cheapening the con- 7 struction ofthis part of the fire-escape by e11- abling the manufacturer to useeyebolts such as are for sale in the market, care only being taken tohave sufiicient stock and thickness where the bolt joins the eye, (seeFig. 8,) to insure the rope which passes throughthe eye, as shown inFigs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, being held up andkept clear from the end of thestay B. In this way the strain will be taken up by the eyebolt C and thestay B, and no injurious strain of either rope or canvas over the end ofthe stay B will result. The rope D, where it engages with the projectionor shoulder C,

should be properly sewed with canvas or other suitable protectingmaterial to prevent wear. 0

To further improve the construction and 0peration'of the curved staywhen used or liableto be used with narrow windows, I make it collapsiblewhen suitable pressure is applied to the ends of the stay, and I acconi-5 plish this by making the stay in two parts and connecting them by ahinge, E, as shown at Figs. 6 and T. For this purpose I prefer,

on account of'its compactness, the compasshinge, so called, (shown inthose figures,) which also illustrate convenient methods of introducingthe hinge into the stay B or at taching it thereto. to be made of such acurvature that the strain upon its ends, when the fire-escape is in use,will not tend to collapse the part B, this operation being intended totake place only in order to allow the stay B to be passed out of anarrower window or other place of exit than would be possible orfeasible if the stay B were I not made collapsible.

The construction of the fire-escape shown in the drawings, except in theparticulars here- 'inabove set forth, is substantially as described andshown in the Letters Patent No. 27 7 ,415, above referred to, and forthat reason no detailed description thereof is repeated.

1. In afire-escape of the character described, the combination of thecurved stay-piece B This stay is, in practice,

.and projecting part or shoulder O, substan:

tially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

EDWARD T. ROWE.

' 'XVitnesses:

H. FAIRBANKS, ALEX. P. BROWNE.

